Ed Litton, the newly elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention and pastor of Redemption Church in Saraland, Alabama, north of Mobile, has repeatedly plagiarized large blocks of material in his sermons, especially material from J. D. Greear. Ed’s been doing it for years, as well. Evidence has surfaced that even as early as 2015, pastor Litton was plagiarizing. He should immediately resign from the presidency of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Ed Litton should immediately resign from the presidency of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Owen Strachan, a former professor at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and currently the provost and a professor at Grace Bible Theological Seminary in Conway, Arkansas, has strong words for plagiarists and those who don’t or won’t take a strong stand against intellectual theft. On Saturday, July 3, 2021, Dr. Strachan took to Facebook to say this:

I grieve the lack of clarity the sheep are getting over plagiarism. Let me give a few quick thoughts to try to help:

1. 1. 1. 1. 1. Plagiarism is stealing.
            2. At GBTS, the seminary I serve, plagiarism will jeopardize your standing as a student and likely result in expulsion.
            3. If a pastor plagiarizes even once, in normal circumstances he should lose his job.

My comments on plagiarism of late are theological, not political. Plagiarism is a huge character issue. It is usually linked with other sins. As a professor who’s dealt with it multiple times, I know this firsthand. I have also seen this play out in churches, and have tragic experience there.

Plagiarism is a grave moral failing that rightly shuts down careers—especially pastoral careers, because we who teach Scripture are held to the highest standard on planet earth (see James 3:1). It must be so, and in any sound church and institution, it will be so.

Forgiveness is always available in Christ, and praise God for this. Every Christian needs divine forgiveness daily! But forgiveness does not nullify accountability. The preaching and teaching office is to be held only by godly men of consistent character. These men are not perfect by any stretch, but they are not to engage in isolated behavior or patterns of sin in any form that shame the church. If they do, they are to be expelled from the ministry.

If we politicize moral matters, making them not about actions but about warring parties, we place our church and institution on sand, not solid rock. It is true that there are diplomatic matters to handle in Christian circles. But we must handle moral matters morally, lest we lose our spiritual birthright. This applies not to one group or church or denomination, but all of us who claim the name of Christ.

Previously, on June 28, Dr. Strachan had posted this.

I am seeing folks say on social media that pulpit plagiarism is less serious than academic plagiarism.

Words fail me here. Is this a joke? Biblically, a pastor is held to a VASTLY higher standard than a student. Pastors are to be models of godliness. Consider this verse alone: “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness” (James 3:1).

Honestly, I feel like the kid in the famous YouTube video: is this real life? Are we actually arguing that pastoral borrowing and stealing (wherever the lines are exactly) is not a big deal? If so, we are a post-moral people.

God’s hand is heavy upon us in these days. What is going on?

Two of the Six Southern Baptist Seminary Presidents Are Implicitly or Explicitly Supportive of Ed Litton

The answer to the question of what Ed Litton should do should be a no-brainer! Yet two seminary presidents have offered him overt or implied support. Danny Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina, tweeted the following after Ed Litton issued a statement in the wake of the controversy. Greear released his own statement about the matter as well. I believe both pastors’ statements be weak and inadequate, especially since a pattern of plagiarism on the part of pastor Litton has emerged. My point here, however, is Danny Akin’s response.

Thank you my friend. I appreciate your humility, transparency and integrity. Grateful for you! https://t.co/xHkqc4FYMH

— Daniel Akin (@DannyAkin) June 26, 2021

Kenneth Keathley is a professor of theology at SEBTS. He tweeted, “Full disclosure: the preachers who mentored me considered plagiarizing a sermon to be an impossibility. Like Augustine, they believed that “the Word of God belongs to all who obey it.” In other words, if a sermon truly is based on Scripture then no one owns it but God.” Then he offered a lesson from history about how using the material of others had been treated in the past.

So, Dr. Keathley isn’t “saying they were right,” but he’s not saying they were wrong, or that Ed Litton was wrong, either.

Meanwhile we see this from leaders at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. Malcolm Yarnell is a professor of theology at SWBTS.

His wife had tweeted, “This is theology in community. When did our church culture decide we have to be lone rangers? Thank you for your commitment to preach God’s Word and show His love.”

Yarnell responded, “My wife said something very important about theology here in response to @EdLitton, something that has been increasingly lost in Baptist life, something that must be regained.”

What?!? Theology in community? This reminds me of Exodus 32:24 (context Ex. 32:19-24). Aaron told Moses, “And I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them break it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out.”

Glenn Melvin describes himself this way on Twitter: “Film/TV Producer. OEF Veteran. Army Reservist. Husker. Jesus Freak.” Melvin pushed back against Malcolm Yarnell and his tweet: “So there won’t be any section about plagiarism on the syllabus this semester? The President of the SBC should be held to higher standard than seminary students. And this coming from the only professor who claims his materials for class are subject to copyright.”

So there won’t be any section about plagiarism on the syllabus this semester? The President of the SBC should be held to higher standard than seminary students. And this coming from the only professor who claims his materials for class are subject to copyright.

— Glenn Melvin (@glennmelvin) June 26, 2021

Significantly, Dr. Adam Greenway, president of SWBTS, retweeted the above item from Dr. Yarnell and his wife, giving tacit approval to Ed Litton’s plagiarism.

The Silent Ones

The remaining four seminary presidents,

• • • Jeff Iorg of Gateway Seminary,
    • Jason K. Allen of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary,
    • Jamie Dew of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and
    • Albert Mohler of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary,

have not made recent statements.* However, in 2006, Dr. Mohler did publicly condemn plagiarism as stealing.

The silence is deafening. The excuses offered for Litton’s behavior are egregious. The implicit support given to him is unconscionable. Unless they repent of their silence or of offering excuses for the SBC president’s having engaged in willful and repeated theft, the seminary presidents are complicit in widespread corruption in the Southern Baptist Convention. The same can be said about professors who have supported Litton, although the presidents are especially culpable.

Dr Gagnon Weighs In

Dr. Robert A. J. Gagnon, theologian and professor at Houston Baptist University, addressed the situation with a statement that was just as strong as Owen Strachan’s.

Fifteen years ago Albert Mohler called pulpit plagiarism a “despicable” act of “stealing.” D. A. Carson declared eleven years ago: “Taking over another sermon and preaching it as if it were yours is always and unequivocally wrong, and if you do it you should resign or be fired immediately.” Nine years ago even J. D. Greear thought pulpit plagiarism was wrong; but now that it has been committed to an egregious extent by his friend and SBC President successor Ed Litton it is apparently, like homosexual practice, not something to “shout” about.…

Where are the courageous SBC leaders who will stand up now? Will there be no repercussions for the extensive serial plagiarism by SBC President Litton, which involved not just of one of previous SBC President Greear’s messages but of dozens? And, worst of all, plagiarism of Greear’s doctrinal errors concerning the Bible’s stance on sexual ethics in general and homosexual practice in particular. The fact that Litton got permission from Greear to use his material (so the story goes) is irrelevant to the fact that he passed the material off to his congregation as his own work. As I said, the plagiarism was not just a line here or there. It was (1) extensive transfer of sermons and (2) a serial sin. What are the repercussions?

Where are the courageous SBC leaders who will stand up now?
—Dr. Robert A. J. Gagnon—

Former SBTS seminary professor Russell Fuller has also weighed in concerning this controversy. He has joined a growing number of Southern Baptists who are calling on Ed Litton to resign.¹

There ought to be serious repercussions for the seminary presidents as well as for Litton.

Seminary Policies Against Plagiarism

The seminary presidents have a lot of explaining to do. How is it that they can support Ed Litton or remain silent in the face of mounting evidence that he is guilty of habitual plagiarism, even as the educational institutions they lead have strong policies against the practice? The presidents need to answer to the trustees of the institutions they lead and to rank and file Southern Baptists. If the trustees don’t demand answers, Southern Baptists should replace them.

I’m waiting for our leaders to speak up and address this issue!

*Note: On July 5, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary president Jason Allen tweeted,

Re re-preaching other’s sermons, I believe:

One *ought* not preach another’s serm (w/ rare exceptions) even w/ permission & attribution.

One *must* not preach another’s serm w/out permission & attribution.

If this appears to happen, the church’s elders should review & resolve.

Copyright © 2021 by B. Nathaniel Sullivan. All rights reserved.

Seminary Policies Against Plagiarism

The following information on each seminary’s policy against plagiarism is representative but not exhaustive.